Mr Leonard Mead
by annavictoriasf
Summary: This is an extended scene for the short story "The Pedestrian"


It was 2053, the outside was not an option in society's mind anymore, or at least that's what I thought. For me it was. I dreamed about visiting the outside every day. I dreamed about how fun it would be to walk along the sidewalks with no place to go. I thought of how relaxing it would be to go outside and do whatever my mind desired to do. I knew this was wrong for society, but why not for me?

This was a dream of mine, that couldn't be accomplished. In 2053, today's society had no contact with the outside. Technology was the main source of entertainment, which for me was boring. Society doesn't realize how much they depend on it. Its like they are compelled or controlled by technology. But this is not the only thing they are controlled by, the government was also restraining society from visiting the outside.

As much as I tried my thoughts about the outside were not going away. Every night, as I laid in bed, in my room, all pitch black, I thought about this. My family thought it was a stupid thought.

"How could you think that? That's insane!" said my mom. "Streets are long, dark and empty. You could have that same enjoyment inside, with the television."

"But mom, the outside seems so much fun, I am curious to explore nature." I said.

"Noah, stop it. That is such a stupid idea of yours. This is wrong. Do not ever talk about this to anyone. Try to forget about it, it's never going to happen. It is not possible." yelled my mom at me.

I tried to forget about it by doing what my mom said, watching the television. I skipped through every channel, but nothing interested me.

The television began to bore me. My mom and dad seemed so entertained by it. I did not understand why. They both look compelled and controlled. The lights in the room were all turned off, the only thing that illuminated the room was the huge television screen.

It was eight o'clock, outside was dark, lights from the televisions screens lit the streets. I looked out the window. I thought about the outside once again, until I saw something. At first, I thought I was dreaming, but after, I realized it was not. This was actually happening. I saw someone walking in the street. The long, dark and empty street. I saw someone walking in the street! How could I never seen this before? I was amazed.

I followed him with my eyes until he turned around the corner where I couldn't see him anymore. I stayed up thinking about it as I looked through my room's window. As midnight approached, I saw him again, walking slowly talking to the lamp lights as he walked forward to his house. I saw him entering his house, but the most interesting thing of all was that he did not turn on the television at any moment. He went directly to his room, he fell asleep very fast.

I did not sleep very well that night. I had many questions. I still couldn't process what I saw. I was shocked.

Morning had come and I walked towards the kitchen to have breakfast. In there, were my mom and dad. I wondered if I should tell them about what I saw last night.

"Mom, can I ask you something?" I said.

"Sure sweetie, what is it?" she said.

"Whos the man who lives in front of our house?" I said in a low voice.

"He's Mr. Leonard Mead, why do you ask? My mom said.

"No, nothing, just wondering. Do you know anything about him?" I said in a questioning voice.

"Not much Noah, but as much as I'm concerned, he is weird. Isn't he Michael?" said my mom.

"Yes darling, he in fact is." said my dad.

I could totally see why my parents thought that, but I decided not to question them anymore.

As the sun began to settle, I went to the window. I waited until Mr. Mead headed out his house again. It was at eight o'clock sharp for the second time. He walked to the right, as usual, walking really slow, communicating with his surroundings as he walked through the sidewalk until I couldn't see him anymore.

I waited for him to come back to his house once again. This time, at midnight, he did not arrive. I assumed he was sure having fun exploring the outside, that he had lost track of time. I waited until three in the morning for him to arrive, but there was not a single sign of Mr. Mead. I decided to go to bed, all this window viewing had tired me out.

As the sun rose, I looked through my window to see if there were any signs of Mr. Mead. There were none.

At noon, when I came home from school, I did the same thing. I looked through my window and looked for Mr. Mead, but still, no sign of him.

I decided to go with my parents to the television room since Mr. Mead was not anywhere to be seen. My parents clicked on Channel 7, the news. This news were mostly about new technology advances made. Since crime was ebbing in this town, there was rarely any news about that, until then. The television lady had announced a recent "crime" that had happened.

She said, "This past night, there had been a suspicious man walking in the streets of our neighborhood. Leonard Mead has been detained and sent to a Physiatric Center on Regressive Tendencies due to the following incident."

My parents and I were silent for a moment. We were all shocked about this news.

"See Noah, I told you he was weird, glad he has been arrested and sent to a psychiatrist center." my mom told me.

I did not say a thing, I ran into my room and layed in my bed looking to the ceiling trying to process what had happened. How could this be a crime? Why would he be arrested, he did not do anything wrong. These were some of the few questions that crossed my mind at that moment.

And that's when a big idea popped up. I hurried down the stairs and ran through the front door. I decided I wanted to be the same as Mr. Mead. I wanted to be able to experience the outside.

I wandered through the streets for hours and miles until the night began to settle. There was nothing stopping me from doing this. That was until a police car began to approach…


End file.
